I agree. It should be a personal decision. Government already has its nose in too many places; forcing people to wear helmets while skiing shouldn't be something else. And having such a policy be motivated by the medical costs it might save is not much of a reason at all. It seems like too many "Big Brother"-type laws have been introduced because of medicare costs. For example, there are by-laws against smoking at work, smoking in bars, smoking in restaurants, smoking on outdoor patios, etc., all motivated by the desire to cut medicare costs. I am not a smoker, but I have to wonder: how far are we going to go towards becoming a police state country in the name of controlling costs of big programs that probably should be completely revamped, or terminated outright, in the first place? If I had to choose between turning Canada into a Police State and shutting down Medicare, I would choose to shut down Medicare. (I am not a fan of our big, expensive, nationally-destructive, social programs.)
I think the same motive was in place for the laws regarding seat belts in cars, helmets while bicycling, etc. Not only are these laws motivated by bad reasons, they are turning Canadians into soft wimps.